Hearty Breakfasts from the Pantry

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I don’t know about you, but I’m one of those people that likes to have the same thing for breakfast every day. I find it comforting and I’m not up to being creative first thing in the morning. My preference is toast and coffee. Yours may be cereal and milk or porridge. But once in a while, say when we’re having a lazy weekend, we might feel like something a bit more daring. Apart from the recipes below, you’ll find a range of options on this website for a hearty but healthy breakfast.

The healthiest option, Seasonal Fruit Salad with Natural Yoghurt, needs no recipe, so I’ve provided none.

Meanwhile, eggs are a breakfast essential. You’ll find a couple of egg recipes below, and many more in the Fast Eggs collection.

If you have a bit of a sweet tooth, you’ll find sweet but sugar free options in the entries:

   »   Quick and Healthy Snacks: Cakes-in-a-Mug

   »   Quick and Healthy Snacks: High Protein Biscuits

   »   Quick and Healthy Snacks: High Protein Muffins

The following recipes can (almost) all be made entirely from Pantry Essentials, so you can throw them together from what you have on hand even before you’re fully awake.

 

Recipes:

Microwave Rich Egg Custard

Instant Noodles with Poached Egg

Fruity Porridge

Microwave Granola

Savoury Oatmeal

Sweet Couscous

Quick Rice Pudding

Smashed Avocado on Toast

Fried Apple on Toast

Peanut Butter and Banana Toast

Banana Pancakes

Banana Smoothies

Spinach, Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothie

 

Microwave Rich Egg Custard

• 1 egg
• 1–2 tsp. cornflour
• ½ cup cold low-fat milk
• 1–2 tsp vanilla sugar or cocoa and/or sugar
• Cinnamon (optional)

 

1. In a tall cup dissolve 1–2 tsp. cornflour in ½ cup cold low-fat milk
2. Thoroughly whisk in an egg
3. Microwave on defrost setting (30% power) for 5 minutes
4. Whisk in flavouring such as cocoa and sugar, sugar and cinnamon, or vanilla sugar
5. Microwave on defrost setting for a further 5 minutes
6. Let stand for 2 minutes
7. Can be served warm or chilled

 

Instant Noodles with Poached Egg

• 1 portion instant noodles
• 1 egg
• 1½ tsp. chicken stock powder
• Dried onion, ginger (or pepper) and chives

 

1. In a small saucepan bring 1½ cups water to the boil and add chicken stock powder with dried onion and ginger
2. Add noddles, simmer for 1–2 minutes until the noodles begin to soften
3. Break egg into a cup or small bowl
4. Carefully slide egg onto the noodles
5. Cover immediately, and simmer for a further 1–2 minutes
6. Remove from heat and let stand covered for 2–4 minutes
7. Sprinkle with chives

Variation: substitute 1½ cups chicken or vegetable liquid stock for the stock powder and water

Tip: make sure to keep the cake of noodles intact during Step 2 to provide a bed for the egg to poach in

 

Fruity Porridge

• ¼ cup quick oats
• 1 tbsp. almond meal
• 1–2 tbsp. sultanas
• ¼ cup low-fat milk, or 1–2 tbsp. natural yoghurt (optional)

 

1. In a medium bowl, mix together oats, almond meal and sultanas
2. Just cover with boiling water
3. Microwave on high for 2 minutes
4. Cool by stirring in some cold water, milk or yoghurt

Variations:

• substitute ¼ cup frozen mixed berries for the sultanas
• substitute ¼ Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely chopped (and cinnamon) for the sultanas

 

 

Quick Rice Pudding

• 1 single-serve microwave white rice
• ½ cup low-fat milk
• 1 tsp. cornflour
• 1 tsp. sugar or vanilla sugar
• Cinnamon (optional)

 

1. Microwave rice on high for 20 seconds more than instructed
2. In a large mug, whisk together cold milk, cornflour, vanilla sugar or sugar and cinnamon (optional)
3. Stir the rice into the milk
4. Microwave covered on high for 60 seconds
5. Let stand for 5 minutes
6. Stir and microwave covered on high for 30 seconds
7. Stir and let stand for 5 minutes

 

Smashed Avocado on Toast

• 1 small avocado (or half of a large avocado)
• 2 tsp. lemon or lime juice
• Garlic granules, chilli, pepper and/or coriander (optional)
• 1–2 slice/s wholegrain bread
• Olive oil (optional)

 

1. Chop avocado flesh and scoop into a bowl
2. Add juice and mash with a fork
3. Season with spices of your choice (optional)
4. Toast the bread
5. Drizzle toast with olive oil (optional)
6. Spread avocado on toast

 

Fried Apple on Toast

• ½ Granny Smith apple
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• Cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. butter or margarine
• 1–2 slices wholegrain bread, toasted

 

1. Peel (optional) and slice apple
2. Beat together honey, lemon juice and cinnamon
3. Melt butter in a small frying pan over low heat
4. Add the apple with honey mixture
5. Sauté over medium heat until apple is just tender
6. Serve on toast

 

Peanut Butter and Banana Toast

• 1–2 slice/s wholegrain bread
• 1 small banana, ripe
• Peanut Butter
• Cinnamon
• 1–2 tbsp. natural yoghurt (optional)

 

1. Toast bread and spread with peanut butter
2. Peel and slice banana and spread over bread
3. Smash banana a little with a fork
4. Sprinkle with cinnamon and top with a dollop of yoghurt (optional)

Variation: omit peanut butter or substitute with butter or margarine

 

Banana Pancakes

• 1 medium banana, very ripe
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp. wholemeal flour
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• Cinnamon and/or ginger
• Oil spray

 

1. Using a bullet blender, liquidise banana until smooth
2. Whisk in egg with cinnamon and/or ginger
3. Mix in flour and baking powder
4. Let stand for 5 minutes
5. Spray a non-stick frying-pan with oil and heat over a low heat for 3–5 minutes to heat evenly
6. Raise heat to medium-high
7. Pour in 2 tbsp. of the mixture for each pancake
8. Cook for 1–2 minutes on each side until golden
9. Makes 4–6 pancakes.

 

Banana Smoothies

• 1 small banana, ripe
• ½ cup natural yoghurt
• 1 tbsp. almond meal

 

1. Place all the ingredients in a serving mug of a bullet blender
2. Add additional ingredients for one of the following varieties
3. Liquidise thoroughly

Variations:

• substitute 1 cup low-fat milk for yoghurt to make milk shakes
• place in small cup of bullet blender and reduce yoghurt to 1 tbsp. to make Banana Creams

Varieties:

§     Berry Smoothie – ¼ cup frozen mixed berries and 2 tsp. desiccated coconut (optional) (Variation: substitute ½ cup fruit juice for the yoghurt)

§     Kiwi Fruit Smoothie – 1 kiwi fruit, peeled and chopped, and 2 tsp. desiccated coconut (optional) (Variation: substitute ½ cup fruit juice for the yoghurt)

§    Chocolate Smoothie – 1–2 tsp. drinking chocolate (or cocoa and sugar to taste) and 1 tbsp. desiccated coconut.

§     Coffee Smoothie – 1–2 tsp. instant coffee, 1–2 tsp. sugar and 1 tbsp. desiccated coconut.

§     Coconut Smoothie – 2 tbsp. desiccated coconut

§     Peanut Butter and Oatmeal – ½–1 tbsp. peanut butter, 1 tbsp. quick oats and cinnamon. (Optional: omit almond meal) (Variation: substitute chia, hemp or flaxseeds for the quick oats)

Tip: frozen bananas can be used to make smoothies

 

Spinach, Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothie

• ½ cup low-fat milk
• 1 tbsp. natural yoghurt
• 1 small banana, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup spinach leaves
• 1 tsp. honey (optional)

 

1. Place all the ingredients in a serving mug of a bullet blender
2. Liquidise thoroughly